


Singing and Dancing

by Write_No_Evil



Series: Jason Todd: A Musician [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Bat Bonding, Bat Fluff, Batbros Bonding, Batfamily Feels, Dancer!Cass, Fluff, Gen, Jason singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-30 15:20:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6429844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_No_Evil/pseuds/Write_No_Evil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce builds a dance studio for Cass so she can train in a different way and move her body in a way that doesn't end in pain. The old CD player Cass uses keeps stopping. It's up to Dick to gather the rest of his musically inclined family (Tim, Damian, Bruce and Jason) so they can create the music for Cass to dance to so she can perform in front of the rest of the family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The motorbike roared as Jason sped down the road, the wind whistling over his helmeted head. Jason bobbed his head in time to the beat of the music he was listening to, muttering the lyrics under his breath. He turned off the main road and into the driveway to Wayne Manor. He braked sharply when he saw the green van in front of the black gate, suddenly grateful he hadn't been able to find his red helmet before he had left and had taken Roy's helmet instead. It wouldn't do good if people saw the Red Hood pull into Wayne Manor. He steered the bike around the van and to the keypad to type the code that would open the gates. He read the words on the van as he moved past it. 'Jordan's Builders' was printed in bold on the door, confusing Jason even more. Why were they at Wayne Manor?

A brown haired man was standing next to the keypad, talking to Alfred probably, via the white communicator box on the stone column. His angry face told Jason that it wasn't the polite Alfred he was chatting to, most likely Damian, judging by the insulted face he was making. Before he could get any angrier and leave, Jason typed the passcode in. A double beep followed and then the gate began to open. The man next to him thanked him and walked back to his van. Jason waited till the gap was big enough for him to slip through then sped the rest of the way to the big house, forgetting about the van behind him.

He parked the bike and hopped off, walking up the stairs to the door. The hand in his jacket pocket came out, the key to the door in his fingers. He opened the door, glancing to the right where a white phone rested, used to speak to the people at the gate. Damian stood underneath it, the phone in his hand. He tensed when he saw Jason walk through the doorway, hands instinctively reaching for his weapons under his clothes.

"Relax kiddo, I'm not gonna kill your dad today. I've made peace with my past." The statement was true. Jason had been hurt to such an extent he had finally given up on Bruce and the rest of his "family". Leaving them for Roy and Kori had been one of the best decisions of his life. During the months he had spent with them, he had begun to let go of his anger and resentment towards Bruce. The time apart from them had benefitted him immensely, the Pit's madness had also begun to subside leaving Jason much less angry and violent. However, it wasn't until Bruce was thought to have died, that Jason realised that there were still things he needed to say to the only father figure he had had in his life.

As much as he hated to admit it, he viewed Joker sabotaging his helmet in an almost positive light, as it allowed them to finally have the chance to reconcile. That didn't mean they still didn't bang heads, they were both stubborn and too similar that they often fought but the fights never lasted long and were always resolved, unlike their previous ones. Although Jason no longer lived in Gotham because there were just too many bad memories for him to live in the city, he visited the Manor every other time he came to Gotham to meet up with his family (he secretly met up with Alfred every time he was in Gotham though. The ageing butler was close to his heart... that and every time he visited him, Alfred would recommend a different book to him, one that he would devour within hours). He was regularly included in missions and patrols but it was during these that he and Bruce argued the most. Bruce still didn't like Jason's methods, his own morals clashing with Jason's. Bruce wanted Jason to either get rid of the guns or use rubber bullets. Jason immediately opposed the idea. They had argued over Jason's guns, from the bullets to the amount he carried (3 in his civilian outfits, 8 on patrol and more than double that on missions). Bruce wanted him to have 7 guns with rubber bullets and one gun with real bullets, to be used _only_ in emergencies and to be aimed away from vital areas. Jason's great debating skills convinced Bruce to lower it to 5. Both his League of Assassins training and his fear of not being able to protect himself had made him feel neither comfortable nor safe with less than half of his guns being loaded with real bullets. Bruce had stayed steadfast on 5 and while Jason should have felt proud at the accomplishment of changing Bruce's mind, he couldn't walk around with only 3 guns with bullets in them. It was Tim who told him to lie to Bruce and say he had 5 rubber bullet-loaded guns, something that Jason only did when he was wearing his helmet. His loyalty made it hard for him to sound convincing when he was lying so he tried to do it as little as possible and in front of people who weren't very good at body language.

Jason smiled faintly as he recalled how he began to interact with his family again, as much as it seemed like he didn't, he was happy he was a member of the family again. He whistled the tune of the song he had listened to do as he walked into Bruce's office and opened the Grandfather clock that led to the Batcave. He ducked his head whilst simultaneously turning to walk sideways through the narrow gap, grumbling to himself. "Bruce really needs to widen this clock. Or make it bigger. Or both. I don't see how he can fit through this and he's taller than me. Demon Brat and Replacement should be grateful they're small enough they can walk right through it." He sighed as he managed to fit through. The path opened up as he proceeded to walk down the stairs.

Tim looked up as his footsteps echoed through the big space. Tim smiled up at Jason and Jason smiled back at him.

"Yo," he spoke quietly, knowing how echoey the cavern was. Tim nodded a greeting back at him, focusing back on the electronics on the table in front of him. Jason and he had been growing closer and closer. Tim wasn't sure exactly when Jason saw him less of an enemy. Maybe just before he left with Kori and Roy? When Bruce died and Dick took over, talking Damian as his Robin, Tim and Jason bonded more. Tim finally knew what it felt to be replaced. Tim's small smile broadened a smidge as he recalled how Jason had transitioned from calling 'Replacement' as an insult, to a greeting, to a fond nickname.

If he had to be honest, Jason was his favourite brother. Damian had been a massive jerk ever since he had arrived, so really he had to choose between Jason and Dick. Sure Jason had tried to kill him twice before but Tim, to some extent could see why: he had been beaten and killed, revived, for some unknown reason, to crawl out of his grave only to be run over and then taken to a hospital in a vegetive state, to then run away and spend the rest of the year pretty much as a zombie. Then he was "rescued" by Talia and the League of Assassins, spent a year at their compound with no higher level brain functions, before being dunked into the Lazarus Pit, infamous for healing pretty much every wound and making people crazy, and then travelled the world to be taught how to kill by masters. Even the shortened version was pretty traumatic, and when he was finally able to act like a fully functioning human, after going through that entire ordeal, coupled with the Pit's madness, he was told not only did his mentor and father not bring justice to his death and jail/kill his murderer (and that his murderer was somewhere in Gotham, _free_ ) he had been replaced. Tim could begin to understand how that had hurt Jason. Jason had been a street rat, had been told repeatedly he would never amount to much and for years had believed that. When he had become Robin, a hero, all those worries and doubts were gone. He was going to amount to so much, would _do_ so much. When he found out he had been replaced fairly quickly after he had died, as if he hadn't mattered to Bruce, he realised the people who had told him he would never succeed had been correct. He was replaceable. Tim wasn't sure how Jason had gone through all that without completely breaking.

Jason had apologised over and over again for trying to kill him and Tim had accepted the apologies, knowing the Pit had made him crazy and that Jason wasn't fully to blame for his actions, especially compared to how he acted over twenty months after he fell into the Lazarus Pit, so much more sane and in control. They had bonded about being replaced, Jason forgiving Tim and telling him he never really was mad at Tim, more so at Bruce for letting another child take up the mantle of being Robin, and fight in his war, when the previous one had died. In the time Dick became Batman, and even after Bruce took back the title, the two males bonded. Jason helped Tim fix his bike, lead the Teen Titans, give him backup and medical attention when needed. In return, Tim upgraded his helmet to the frequency of the Batcomms so he could stay in touch with them, gave him intel and helped with his missions away with the Outlaws. Jason was being the older brother he never got the chance to be and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

Tim enjoyed it just as much. Jason had a gift for cooking and baking, and would make sweets when he was alone, nervous, agitated, angry, calm, after a nightmare, when the fear of having a nightmare stopped him from sleeping or when he was hungry. Because of this, many times Tim would arrive at one of his two safehouses or at his apartment to find a massive basket of treats or hand cooked food that rivalled even Alfred's (not that he would ever tell Alfred that). Another thing they bonded over was

Another thing they bonded over was sleep, or their lack of it. Jason's sleeping timetable was just as chaotic as Tim's, patrolling and missions taking up a lot of the time people usually slept in. His nightmares came so frequently, waking him all times of the night and morning that he often skipped sleeping and trained instead, stopping him from reliving the worst parts of his life, which was most of it. That meant that he was normally always on call if Tim needed advice especially on something he knew Bruce would disagree on and if Tim somehow got him when he was sleeping, Tim knew that Jason would pick up quickly, being a light sleeper who kept his phone near to his bed. Tim had found himself calling Jason increasingly more often, sometimes just to talk.

Jason was there for him, he had begun to train with Tim as well. Unlike the rest of the family, Jason didn't go easy on him just because he was smaller and lighter than them which Tim greatly appreciated. He could take hits just as well as the others. It also allowed him to become better at dealing with the pain of the blows, the criminals weren't going to go easy on him so neither should his brothers, though Jason always made sure to never give him injuries that would be permanent, effect his Red Robin performance or were in places that were hard toconceal. Tim had to admit, Jason was much better at him at sparring but every time he trained with Jason, the male taught him something new. Tim had improved in hand-to-hand combat and his handling of small blades had dramatically improved. Tim couldn't wait to show Damian a few of the things Jason had taught him.

 

Jason jumped the last few steps and strolled over to where Bruce sat in front of the Batcomputer, typing another mission report up. He stopped by Bruce's side and turned to lean on the computer, resting the back of his hips on the computer. He threw a USB stick onto the dashboard, having done it so often when he was Robin, he knew what height, angle and speed to throw it with so it would land above the keys, the keys stopping it from sliding down and onto the ground.

"Here's everything I could find on the James guy you asked me to look into," Jason told him. Bruce picked it up and stuck it into the USB port, beginning to download the data. Jason watched the screen for a while, growing bored and scanning the cave. Bruce peeked at him from time to time, wanting to talk to his son that he had lost, to death and to distance. Bruce knew he was emotionally constipated and one wrong word could send Jason running away. He wiggled his fingers and licked his lips, trying to think of something to say to the male next to him.

"Alfred made his oatmeal cookies." _"Do you want to stay for dinner?"_

"I've got the recipe." _"I can't. There are too many memories of_ _the me before I died in this Manor."_

"Lucky, he's never told me it, no matter how much I ask." _"Don't push yourself out of your comfort zone to please me. Take as long as you need."_

Jaso nodded, pushing off the computer with a roll of his hips. He walked a few paces then stopped, thinking of something. He turned around to face Bruce.

"Hey," Bruce turned to look at him. "Why was there a Jordan's Builders, or whatever it's called, van at the gates?"

"I've hired them to build a dance studio for Cass." Bruce explained "She wanted to do some sort of training that would help with her fighting but didn't hurt one of us or used techniques her dad taught her. Ballet is good for the body and she can incorporate fighting moves in the dance without the negative connotations of training." Jason nodded and walked off. He exited the Manor half an hour later, after having a tea with Alfred, taking his motorbike and driving back to his base he shared with Roy.

* * *

Dick skipped towards the male builders who were busy working on the project Bruce had given them. He decided to go talk to the stern looking African man, he seemed to be the boss, or at least, he was the most mature and could handle the rest of the builders. The youngest one seemed to be the next maturest of the group of four, the two males that looked older than him acted like children, leaving the black male to yell at them and the other to sigh at them.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could in a recording system. Not a visual one but an auditory one. Do you think you could do that? It has to be covert and can record voices, such as singing voices," Dick asked. The male thought it through, tucking his hands into his green and black overall pockets.

"We can do that, but it'll take a few days longer to complete than we told you, and you'll have to pay more."

"That's fine! We are billionaires after all," Dick laughed. The male smiled a little, turning to the others to tell them about the new addition. Dick smiled as he watched them, a plan forming in his mind.

* * *

Dick walked into the newly made dance studio, just as the music died. He saw Cass turn to the old CD player, huffing and glaring at it. It was a massive square, bigger than a computer screen and heavy. It kept stopping and starting, playing bits of Carry on Wayward Son then pausing, annoying the girl who was trying to dance to the song. Dick furrowed his eyebrows as he thought the CD player looked familiar.

"Why don't you use the internet to get music Cass. It's a better quality, has a much larger variety and doesn't stop and start like this pile of junk does."

"I found it.. in the attic... makes it more... traditional.." Cass told him, concentrating as she spoke.

"Wait, is that the CD player that was Bruce's mum's?" Dick asked, finally realising why it looked familiar.

"...Yes?"

"Yeah, I remember it now. It must be real old," Dick walked to the centre of the room, standing next to his little sister. "How's the dancing going?"

"It is.. good. I .. want it to be ...perfect though," Cass told him earnestly, her dark eyes shining. Steph had suggested she perform for them and Cass had been practising as much as she could for the past two weeks, wanting it to be perfect. Dick sighed.

"This old CD player is gonna ruin it..." Cass looked saddened at the thought, she too thinking that. They both stared at the old black box. Dick couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face,

"Don't worry little sister, I've got a plan to make your performance amazing. Leave it to me." Dick beamed at her. Cass narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you...smiling?" She asked.

"But Cass, I'm always smiling!" He skipped off before she could reply. She watched him go, wondering what he was planning. The music began to play again and she turned back to dancing, putting Dick to the back of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Dick skipped to where the vehicles were held in the Cave knowing Tim was there. Tim would the easiest to persuade, so he would ask him first. He spotted Tim squatting by his bike and fiddling with it.

"Hey Timmy," Dick chirped. Tim looked up at him oil on his face and hair. Dick grimaced at it.

"Hey Dick." Tim smiled at his elder brother. He looked healthy and the bags under his eyes weren't as big or dark as normal. Dick smiled at him again and leant on the bike Tim was working on.

"Say, Timmy, how well can you play the drums?" Dick asked, looking up at the bats sleeping above them. Tim stopped working and faced him.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just wondering. Jeesh, can I not ask my baby brother a question?"

"Alright fine. Jason's been teaching me. I'm getting better at playing," Tim told him. Dick nodded.

"Good good. What songs can you play?"

"What is this? 20 Questions?" Tim asked exasperatedly.

"Just answer it!"

"Not that many, I've only just started learning."

"Could you, I dunno, play Carry on Wayward Son?" Tim looked at him incredulously.

"NO!"

"Could you learn it within a week?"

"No! Yes! Maybe? Why are you even asking?" Dick squatted next to Tim, handing him a tool. Tim took it and continued working on the bike.

"Well, you know Cass is doing a dance performance for us soon? She's refused to use music from the internet or YoTube," he ignored Tim's horrified look. "She's using this really old CD player, the one Bruce's mum had," Tim's face worsened. "But it keeps stopping and starting, so she can't dance to it. So how about we play the song instead. We can all play the instruments needed for the song."

"Alright, fine. I'll help you. Lemme finish this and I'll go learn it." Dick smiled at Tim.

"Thanks lil' bro." He jumped up, beginning to walk back to the Manor.

"Dick, who's going to sing the lyrics? No offence but you can't sing. I don't think anyone in our family can... other than Jason." Dick smiled at him as he walked off.

"Bingo."

* * *

The next easiest person for him to persuade to join him was Bruce. He was sitting in front of the computer, reading a file on a criminal from the GCPD.

"Hey B," Dick chirped at his adoptive father.

"Hello Dick." Bruce stopped reading to look at his acrobatic son. Dick rocked back and forth on his feet, scanning the file on the screen.

"I have a file on him. I can forward it on to you if you want,"

"Thank you. What are you up to Dick?" Dick pouted at his sentence.

"What makes you think I'm up to anything?" He asked. Bruce raised an eyebrow. Dick sighed. "Alright fine, I'm up to something." He looked away. Bruce sighed. A skill Dick had was making you curious about something but not outright telling you. You had to ask him, so when it all backfired , he could say that you had made him tell you.

"And what are you up to?"

"Well," Dick began. "You know that Cass has been dancing since the studio was built," Bruce nodded at this. "And Steph gave her the idea to perform in front of us. But she's been practising using your mother's old CD player for sentimental reasons and all that. Now it's cute and all but it's really old Bruce. Like really old! And so it keeps stopping and starting and making it really hard for her to dance to," Dick leant closer to him. "You know, fathers always want the best for their children. Big brothers want the best for their younger siblings as well. Sooo... I thought, maybe, to put a smile on her face, we perform the song instead."

"Dick-"

"Yeah I know Bruce, you have your Batman duties. But her smile would so be worth it."

"I know Dick-"

"Look, it won't be that hard to learn the chords to the song!"

"Dick if you'll let me-"

"And I'll catch up on anything you can't do at WE!" Bruce shot out of the seat, placing a hand over Dick's mouth to stop him blabbering.

"Dick, if you'll let me speak, I'll do it."

"Weerlee?" Dick spoke into Bruce's hand, Bruce grimacing only slightly. He took his hand away before Dick could do anything else to it.

"Yes. You're right, a father would do whatever they could to see their children happy." Dick grinned at that. "Anyway, it can't be too hard."

"Nope! Not at all. I've already learnt it but I can help you if you want, even though we play different types of guitar. I'm sure it'll be easy to teach anyway." Dick grinned and began to walk away.

"Dick, you still haven't told me the song she's performing to." Dick froze as he realised that, laughing sheepishly.

"It's Carry on Wayward Son." Bruce nodded at that. "Carry on my wayward son! There'll be peace when you are done!" Dick began to sing, throwing his head in all directions.

"Oh God. Dick stop singing!" Bruce yelled at him, wanting the racket to stop. Unfortunately, Dick was too far away to hear him and continued to butcher the song. He skipped up the stairs, just two more people he needed to convince Bruce had been surprisingly easy, easier than Tim. The next two, though, Dick knew would be harder, their pride not letting them readily agree.

* * *

Damian was in his room, painting. He sat in front of the canvas, painting a purple flower. Damian turned when he heard Dick open the door, the older male poking his head around the door.

"Hey Dami," Dick greeted. "Can I come in?"

"Only if you do not distract me, Grayson." Dick took that as a yes and strolled in.

"That's really good! You're really skilled." Dick could see the small blush on the back of Damian's neck.

"Flattery will get you nowhere Grayson. Although you probably already know that." The words were mean but there was no actual bit in them. Dick smiled and ruffled his baby brother's hair, Damian scowling at him for doing such a thing. They stayed in silence for a while as Damian painted.

"Hey, Dami-"

"Do not call me that Grayson."

"I know you can play the violin, but someone as skilled as you could probably play ore than one instrument." Dick continued as if he hadn't heard Damian. He saw Damian puff his chest up as the words made his ego even bigger. Dick would regret it later. Maybe.

"For once you are correct Grayson. I can play the violin, flute, piano, guitar,-"

"You can play the piano! That's so cool!" Dick cut Damian off.

"Only an imbecile would be so impressed at that fact." Now that Dick's suspicions were confirmed, and Damian could play the piano, he moved on with Stage Two of his plan.

"You know what would be really impressive? Learning a song by the end of next week."

"I could easily do that." Hook line and sinker.

"Okay. Good then," Dick spoke quickly. "The song is called Carry on Wayward Son and we'll be playing it as Cass performs next Friday. We'll have a practice on Wednesday all together to make sure we're all alright with the song." Dick was already running out of the room when Damian yelled out a "WHAT!!"

* * *

A day had passed since Dick had begun to recruit people into his band. 'Including today, we have five days till she performs,' Dick thought, shifting slightly as he crouched in the small space between two chimneys. It wasn't the comfiest but it had the best view of the safe house Jason was currently staying in. Even though he had begun to integrate back into the family, there were still people Jason had a hard time being with and speaking to. When Dick thought about it, the only people he got in well were the girls, minus Barbara and Tim. Damian still brought up him dying (even though he too had died); Barbara had not so secectrely shown her detest of working with a killer, her distrust of Jason making him stay away from her; Bruce couldn't do emotions to save his life and Dick had a tendency to accidentally push Jason too far out of his comfort zone. Jason was a difficult male, push him too much and he'll retreat, don't push him enough and he'll anger, thinking they didn't care for him. Finding the balance was hard, but not impossible.

He raised the binoculars back up to his eyes, looking at Jason sitting on the sofa, most likely working on a case. He felt a little pervy; he had been watching Jason for a good two and a bit hours but he still wasn't sure when the best time for him to approach the male would be. Several times he was about to jump over to ask him but he hesitated and didn't do it. He shifted his weight. "Next time I see a chance, I'm gonna take it," he breathed. A 'ping' took his attention away from his younger brother. He opened the text message, heart falling at the sender.

'Get your ass in here'

Dick sighed and jumped, landing on the railing of the little balcony. He pushed himself over it and knocked on the glass. Jason stood up and unlocked it, opening it for the smaller male.

"Hey Jay!" Dirk cheerily spoke, laughing at the rhyme and walked a little way in. He didn't take a seat, not sure where he stood with Jason.

"Is there a reason why you've been watching me for the last two and a half hours?" Jason asked, a small snarl in his voice and a glare beginning to form on his face. "If Bruce sent you to check up on me then he can go fu-"

"He didn't," Dick rushed, hands shooting out with his palms facing Jason in a surrendering position. "I pinky promise." His small finger on his right hand stuck out and Jason just rolled his eyes at his older brother's childish antics.

"Waddaya want?" He grumbled moving to the desk and sweeping the piles of papers together. Dick felt only a little pain at his younger brother's lack of trust in him. He guessed he was still sore from Bruce not letting him carry proper bullet loaded guns.

"Well, you know Cass?" Dick asked. Jason still wasn't around that much and seeing as Cass had spent a lot of time in Hong Kong, Dick wasn't totally sure they had met.

"Yeah, we've met," Jason looked like he was hiding something but Dick didn't pry. "She's a lot cooler than the rest of you lot."

"I'm guessing you like her. Can I go into the kitchen?" Dick was already moving before Jason had given him an answer. Once in the kitchen, he moved to one of Jason's three fridges, opening the one that housed all of the cookies he baked. Dick took several out and began to eat them, groaning at the taste.

"Dese arwe amaving," Dick spoke through a mouthful of food, crumbs falling off his lips as he pointed at Jason with the half eaten cookie. Jaosn blanched at his lack of table manners.

"Don't let Alfie catch you like this." He moved to grab a cookie as well. "And yeah, I guess I like her. Like I said, she's cool."

"So cool you'll sing whilst she dances in front of an audience?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jason asked. Dick sighed as he repeated the same words again.

"When the dance studio was made, Steph, I think it was her, told Cass she should do a performance for them. But she's been using this really old CD player which doesn't work and she can't dance to the music. So we, and that's me, Tim, Bruce and Dami, have decided to make a band and make the song for her. Only problem is, we don't have a vocalist."

"And you want me to sing for you lot don't ya?" Jason finished.

"Please?" Dick asked, batting his eyes for extra emphasis. Jason sighed and dragged his hands down his face.

"I dunno..."

"Please Jay! Just think about her smile. Cass'll be so happy, even happier when she finds out she sorta brought all the family together-"

"Wait, all the family?"

"Yup, we'll be playing the song and she'll be dancing in front of Steph, Babs, Harper and..." Dick trailed off, bringing his ace in the sleeve out. "Alfred." Immediately Jason's guarded face fell and Dick was pretty sure there was a little smile tugging at his lips.

"I'll think about it."

"Is that a yeah?" Dick asked hopefully.

"It ain't a no," Jason told him. Dick nodded; he knew he was already pushing it.

"Alright. Well, we're practising on Wednesday so we can go through any mistakes on Thursday and then she'll perform on Friday. Midday in the dance studio." Dick showed himself out, whistling cheerfully as he walked back to his car.

* * *

"Alright, is everyone here?" Dick asked, looking at the people in the room. Bruce, Damian and Tim looked back at him.

"Jason's not here," Bruce pointed out. Tim pulled his phone from his pocket, looking through his texts.

"He hasn't texted me to say he's not coming," Tim told them.

"Of course Todd wouldn't show. He is not responsible." Damian tutted from where he sat behind the piano.

"Maybe he's just late," Tim spoke on Jason's behalf. Damian tutted again but let it rest.

"Well, let's get started without him. Lyrics are pretty easy to learn, I don't think he'll really need this practise." Dick smiled but they all heard the doubt in his voice. Dick walked over to them and plugged his electric guitar into a speaker. Bruce had already plugged his bass guitar in, waiting for Dick to get ready. Damian sat up, placing his fingers on the keys, nobody mentioning that his feet couldn't reach the pedals (not that they were needed in the song) and Tim picked up his drumsticks, twirling them in his hands.

"Alright, one, two, three, go!" Dick and Tim began playing but Bruce and Tim didn't.

"Hey why didn't you begin?" Dick asked.

"Obviously Drake hasn't learnt his piece and that threw off father," Damian told Dick, smirking at Tim. Tim glared back at the boy.

"That's not the reason. For starters, I was the first to learn their piece," Tim gloated and Damian scowled. "And second, the song starts with vocals. Dick didn't exactly specify when we were to start, which threw Bruce and I off."

"It does?" Dick titled his head, mumbling the words to the start of the song. His eyes widened as he realised that Tim was correct. "Whoops. Okay we'll start with the first instrument, which is you Timmy."

"Okay, let's try this again, one, two three, four," Dick counted them in. Tim began his piece, hitting the drum in front of him. A few beats later Bruce and Dick joined him, Damian following a beat after them. They got half way before things began to get out of time.

"Drake, you have one job, hitting the drums, which I'm sure even a baby can do, yet you are failing to do that," Damian snarled at Tim.

"At least me feet touch the ground!" Tim retorted, smiling when Damian snarled at him, unable to think up of a comeback. The red tint of Damian's ears told Tim he was blushing.

"We keep going out of time with each other. We've practised on our own, surely practising with each other isn't that different?" Bruce questioned.

"Maybe we need the lyrics?" Tim was hesitant to put the idea out there. Dick perked up.

"Yeah! Maybe that's it!! I'll sing if you want!" All three groaned.

"Dick, we don't mean to offend you but your singing skills... well they are... ermm.. boys?" Bruce began

"Awful."

"Horrendous, worse than a cat's wail."

"Would rather put broken glass shards in my ear than hear you sing

"Once mistook it for you being in pain."

"Okay okay, I get the message, but who are you picking to sing then?" Dick asked. The three males in front of him looked at each other.

"Well I can't sing at all, so that leaves Damian and Bruce."

"I am more than capable of singing a few words. I will show all of you that I am the best singer here."

"Do you even know all the lyrics, Demon?"

"Tim!" Bruce scolded his son. "Even so, with my limited knowledge of music, I know that Carry on Wayward Son is a song for the deeper voice. Damian's voice hasn't broken yet which leaves me, though I much prefer slower songs," Bruce told Dick, fingers absently plucking the strings as he spoke.

"How 'bout I sing the words quietly? You don't hear and we stay in time, hopefully. A win-win situation," Dick compromised. He really wanted to be the lead singer. Bruce sighed, knowing about his eldest son's secret desire to be a singer.

"Fine. But quietly Dick," Bruce told him. Dick smiled at him and turned back, counting them in again. They played the song through with only minor errors, mostly coming from, Dick who was too busy looking at the door and waiting for Jason to burst in.

"I don't think he's coming Dick," Tim spoke from the back of the room. Dick sigh and nodded.

"Oh well. Maybe he'll come tomorrow?"

But he didn't come the next day. Dick, as well as Tim, Bruce, Barbara and Steph had texted him about his whereabouts and if he was going tomorrow, some who threatened grievous bodily harm if he didn't turn up and spoiled Cass' show. They even got Alfred to text him, knowing about his secret (or not so secret) admiration and love for the butler.

  
The day of the dance recital arrived and still there was no word from Jason. Dick paced back and forth in the room behind the dance studio, where all the electronics were kept. The others were doing last minute checks and practises.

"Where is he?" Dick was frantic, taking his phone out every so often and checking the time or if he had any texts from Jason.

"Dick," Bruce spoke softly. "I don't think he's coming."

"Typical of the street rat," Damian insulted him, anger in his face. Whether the anger was his natural anger or anger towards Jason messing up Cass' performance, they wouldn't know.

"Let's give him a few more minutes, maybe he's stuck in traffic.. or maybe he's been hurt," Tim hesitated in giving them the last reason of his absence. "It would explain why he didn't show up on Wednesday or Thursday and why he's no here now. I mean it's Jason, he never tells anyone he's hurt."

"But he wold have this time, to tell us he can't help Cass' dance recital," Dick protested.

"Face it Grayson, Todd is not coming. You should let me sing instead, I've gone and learnt the lyrics. They're not that good anyway, I could have written better. Todd only cares about himself. He doesn't care if he hurts or lets down anyone else." The mean words come from Damian.

"Damian that is not true!" Bruce scolds the boy.

"Yeah Brat, I'm a nice, caring man." The door swung open and there, standing in the doorframe, was a panting Jason.

"Jay!" Dick yelled, rushing forward and hugging the male. Jason stiffened at Dick's touch but let him wrap his arms around him.

"I thought you weren't going to come." Jason finally shoved him off.

"If it was anyone else, then I wouldn't have come. But it's Cass and I like her," Jason tells him. He turned and looked at the rest of the men. "If it was one of you I would have stayed at home."

"Why didn't you come on Wednesday or Thursday?" Tim asked.

"Was on a mission in outer space. A friend of Kori's needed her help. I couldn't call and tell you had happened as we used up all the fuel and electricity on getting back as quickly as we could."

"Well now that we're all here, let's go." Bruce ushered them to the door leading into the dance studio. They walked in and headed to the small section to the left of the stage Cass was dancing on. Barabara, Harper, Steph and Alfred were all sitting on chairs against the wall covered in mirrors. The audience clapped as they got prepared, Bruce and Dick putting their guitars on, Tim and Damian sitting behind their instruments and Jason standing in front of the microphone, adjusting it to his height. Cass walked on after and stood in the middle of the stage, waiting for them to begin. Jason smiled at her in encouragement and turned forward.

"One, two, three four." Cass sprang into motion as he began to sing.

 _"Carry on my wayward son_  
_There'll be peace when you are done_  
_Lay your weary head to rest_  
_Don't you cry no more."_ Jason sang the harmony. All the audience except Alfred, who already knew of his singing capabilities, rose their eyebrows in shock as they heard him sing, perfectly. Who would have thought a big, brute like Jason could not only well but could sing a harmony.

The others began playing their instruments after the introduction. Not having an instrument to concentrate on, Jason looked over to see Cass landing from a handspring. She used her momentum to spin a few times whilst on the tip of her foot. Jason smiled as he saw her dress. It was a tutu version of the Batman costume, the Batman logo in the middle of her chest. She had a puffy skirt that had yellow underlines and as she spun, her black cape spread out as well, the end of it coming to her waist. Her makeup was amazing, Steph probably doing most of it. Her face was white and her lips were yellow with the black sign of the Batman in the middle. Her eyes were just as amazing, a yellow eyeshadow that gradually turned to black, with a black bat wing at the very top. On the bottom of her left eye, bats had been painted flying away from the corner and around her eye. He turned back to the mic as the instrumental finished.

_"Ah_

_"Once I rose above the noise and confusion_  
_Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion_  
_I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high."_ Cass did a series of leaps and tumbles throughout the verse, spinning as she let the music take her away. Everyone was watching her, even Tim and Damian, having practised enough they could play their instruments without looking .

 _"Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man_  
_Though my mind could think I still was a mad man_  
_I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,_  
_I can hear them say,_

 _"Carry on my wayward son,_  
_There'll be peace when you are done_  
_Lay your weary head to rest_  
_Don't you cry no more!"_ Cass danced around the stage, keeping in time with the fast music. She spun and spun using each turn to spin faster. She jumped, her legs doing a split and landed perfectly on her feet, her left foot facing left in front of her right foot facing right. She lifted up onto her tips toes and pattered delicately back into the centre on the tip of toes.

 _"Masquerading as a man with a reason_  
_My charade is the event of the season_  
_And if I claim to be a wise man,_  
_Well, it surely means that I don't know_

 _"On a stormy sea of moving emotion_  
_Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean_  
_I set a course for winds of fortune,_  
_But I hear the voices say,"_ Jason smiled as he sang the chorus, letting his heart pour out into the words. This was one of his favourite songs and he made sure to make it as good as possible, putting as much emotion into the words as possible.

 _"Carry on my wayward son_  
_There'll be peace when you are done_  
_Lay your weary head to rest_  
_Don't you cry no more no!"_ Dick stood next at him, grinning as he played his instrument and banging his head in time. Jason looked over at Bruce who stood near Damian, his eyes on Cass and still playing the notes perfectly. He had to be playing them correctly, bass guitars were the backbone of the group. A glance to Tim showed he too was fine, even though he had just started learning drums. Jason had started teaching him how to play when he saw Tim's destructive tendencies. He had hoped Tim would take out his feelings on the drum and not himself. The time teaching him allowed them to bond and talk to each other about things. Damian seemed to be handling the piano well, not that he expected anything less from the little assassin. He smiled a little when he saw Damian's feet swinging in the air, his legs too small to reach the floor.

 _"Carry on,_  
_You will always remember_  
_Carry on,_  
_Nothing equals the splendor_  
_Now your life's no longer empty_  
_Surely heaven waits for you!"_ Cass continued to twirl and turn around the stage, jumping and kicking her legs out. She twirled around the stage, keeping her back straight and lips smiling.

 _"Carry on my wayward son_  
_There'll be peace when you are done_  
_Lay your weary head to rest_  
_Don't you cry,_  
_Don't you cry no more,_

 _"No more!"_ Cass jumped and landed as the song finished. She stood there for a second breathing heavily as the crowd in front of her stood up and began clapping and cheering. Steph threw a bouquet of flowers to her, Cass easily catching it and blushing. She hopped off the stage, Stephanie and Harper rushing over to congratulate her. Barbara wheeled herself over to the boys, the musicians standing up and walking to the middle of the dance studio. She rolled over to Dick and smiled at him.

"I've always wanted to date a hot rockstar," she flirted, Dick beamed and was about to reply but Tim beat him to it.

"Please take you sexual tension elsewhere," he mumbled. The two blushed and shouted his name but he just walked off to Cass to praise her as well. Alfred walked over to the group, bringing a tray of cool lemonade that he gave to Cass. He walked over to Jason and offered him one too.

"Master Jason, please rehydrate yourself. Singing does make you thirsty."

"Thanks Alf," Jason took one grinning and wandering over to his younger sister to tell her how awesome she was.

"Yes Miss Barabra?" Afred asked as Barbara moved closer to him. She had a sly grin on her face and Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Please send me a copy of the video we recorded," she smiled sweetly as she made her.

"So you can send to Miss Kate and the others who regrettably couldn't be here?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Why of course Alfred," Barbara feigned innocence.

"Then I guess I will also accidentally send you the audio tape too." Barabara giggled and thanked him.

"May Iinquiree as to what yo will do with the tape and audio?"

"Hmmm, I will send it to those who didn't see it and I'll pretend to keep it as blackmail over Jason," she paused and looked at the singer. "But I don't think he'll really care about it." She looked back at the butler of the Wayne family. "He has a nice voice, it'll calm me down after a nightmare or lull me to sleep." Alfred smiled.

"I am sure Jason would be pleased knowing he is helping you through your fears."

 

 [Carry on Wayward Son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-ejz2RmueE&index=4&list=PL59GJJ_R-099elBHP5zavSJ9DYDgfw0gt)

 


End file.
